You presume too much. How do you know Gregg, for example, would take another 50 pounds to his frame? It might not be in his genetics. He might, at best, have the body of a strong-side 4-3 defensive end.

How do you know he has the feet to block the Wares, Matthews, and Allens of the modern NFL? He didn't have to do that when he played?

Suppose he can handle 50 more pounds AND he does have the feet to play tackle in 2013. Do you know for certain that he can add those 50 pounds and still move well enough?

How are his hands? Arm length? Remember, when he played, offensive linemen couldn't use their hands. He might be a terrible pass protector all around.

Would any player from the old days be a better athlete in the modern game? Absolutely. Can we predict exactly how? Nope. It is entirely possible the best players to pick from the 1960s for the modern game were either bench warmers or not even in the league back then. Different skillsets are preferred, we have more specialists, and substitutions. Taken to the extreme, maybe Bubba who worked a farm in the 1960s, a guy no one has ever heard of, would have taking to regimented training better than anyone on the Packers 1960s roster. As a result, he takes Gregg's job and forgotten to history.

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You're correct--nobody, including you, knows how athletes from one generation compare to another. It's the same thing when people come up with "best" lists of QBs, etc. that do nothing more than serve as a forum to debate value. Perhaps I should have said we need "a Forrest Gregg", or "a Nitschke". But I happen to believe any of the players I mentioned would be outliers today, just as they were during their Hall of Fame careers.